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Emily A. Speer Heffner

Emily A. Speer Heffner, MD

General SurgeryBariatric Surgery

Accepting New Patients
Need help scheduling? Call 303-265-5260

Highlights

Age Groups Seen

  • Adult 19-64
  • Older Adult >65

Gender

Female

Hospital Affiliation

  • Saint Joseph Hospital
  • Lutheran Hospital

About Emily A. Speer Heffner

About The Provider

Dr. Emily Speer is a fellowship-trained Foregut and Minimally Invasive Surgeon with a particular interest in antireflux procedures. Dr. Speer attended medical school at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and completed her residency in General Surgery at the University of Colorado. During this training, she developed a passion for minimally invasive, and particularly foregut, surgery. This led her to a fellowship in Advanced GI and Minimally Invasive Surgery with Lee Swanstrom, MD and colleagues in Portland, Oregon. During this fellowship, Dr. Speer became proficient in the most up-to-date surgical and endoscopic techniques for foregut problems such as gastroesophageal reflux, esophageal disorders, diaphragmatic hernias, and obesity.  Her special interests include laparoscopic tailored fundoplications, myotomies, and reoperative paraesophageal hernia repairs, as well as newer technologies such as POEM (Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy) for achalasia and LINX for GERD. She is also trained in BARRX for Barrett’s esophagus, flexible endoscopic cricopharyngeal myotomy to treat Zenkers diverticulum, esophageal dilation and stenting, laparoscopic and endoscopic feeding tubes, pyloroplasty and gastrectomy for treatment of gastroparesis, and bariatric weight loss surgery. Dr. Speer is active in research. She is the author of multiple publications on reflux surgery, is an invited speaker at national meetings, and sits on national committees for furthering excellence in foregut surgery.

Patient satisfaction and safety are at the core of Dr. Speer's decision-making, and she strives to provide the very best and most compassionate care to each patient by individually tailoring treatment plans to fit each person's need. Dr. Speer aims to provide patients with the education they need to make informed treatment decisions in order to provide them with superior surgical care in the least invasive way possible.

While Dr. Speer is trained in all areas of general surgery, as a fellowship-trained Foregut and Minimally Invasive Surgeon, her areas of clinical interest include:

  • Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) surgery
  • Esophageal disorders such as achalasia
  • Hiatal hernia surgery
  • Gastroparesis surgery
  • Weight loss surgery
  • Advanced endoscopy
  • Gallbladder surgery
  • Robotic surgery

Video

Locations

  1. Lutheran Clinic - Weight Loss Center + Reflux Center
    • 12905 West 40th Avenue, Suite 405, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
    • Get Directions
    • phone: 303-403-3030
    • fax: 303-403-6907

Expertise

Education

  • Fellowship: Providence Portland Medical Center, Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery, 2015
  • Residency: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Surgery (General Surgery), 2014
  • Medical School: Georgetown University School of Medicine, 2009

Board Certifications

  • Surgery (General Surgery): American Board of Surgery, 2015

Insurance

Please contact the doctor's office directly to confirm acceptance of insurance.
Search plans
  • Aetna
  • Anthem BCBS
  • Cigna
  • Clear Spring
  • Cofinity
  • Colorado Access
  • CorVel
  • Coventry
  • Denver Health
  • First Health/Coventry
  • Friday Health Plans
  • Humana
  • InnovAge PACE
  • Kaiser (limited coverage)
  • Meritain via Aetna Network
  • Pinnacol Assurance
  • Prime Health Services Inc
  • Rocky Mountain Health Plans
  • SCL Lutheran Hospice
  • Three Rivers Provider Network
  • TriWest
  • United Healthcare

Ratings & Reviews

4.8 out of 5

215 ratings, 32 reviews

The Patient Satisfaction Rating is an average of all responses to the care provider related questions shown below from our survey. Patients that are treated in outpatient or hospital environments may receive different surveys, and the volume of responses will vary by question.

Search reviews
    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/11/2026

    Patient, willing to answer questions and provide detailed responses.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/1/2026

    She was great. Listen to any concerns I had. gave me feedback. It took care of everything I needed.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/25/2026

    Very informative .

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/19/2026

    She is very kind and cares about her patients.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/16/2026

    She has been amazing and so willing to take the time I need.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/16/2026

    Very Good is not the rating I would give! Above and beyond EXCEPTIONAL IS A RATING THAT IS MORE BECOMING

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/22/2025

    Dr Speer has been wonderful. She takes as much time as you need to go over everything and answer all questions. I never feel rushed.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/12/2025

    All I can say she is wonderful and really caring!

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 11/26/2025

    love Dr. Speer

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 11/23/2025

    She actually listens to your symptoms and concerns.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 11/21/2025

    I really like her style. She is confident but not in braggart sort of way. Carefully and thoroughly walked through the test results and then went into next steps and explained all of my options fully

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 11/14/2025

    Very skilled, very thorough, very caring

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/29/2025

    I am so happy I found her. Her knowledge and expertise really gave me my life back again.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/6/2025

    I am feeling very hopeful that Dr Speer can help me. I feel that she listened to my concerns and understood my concerns, and will do her best to help me.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/1/2025

    Intelligent & kind

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 9/23/2025

    Great doc

    4 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 9/4/2025

    She seems tip top!

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 8/29/2025

    Emily Speer is a fantastic doctor. She totally understood my problems and concerns

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 8/21/2025

    She is incredibly knowledgeable, and experienced in the latest procedures

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 8/21/2025

    Better explanation of procedures performed with diagrams and photos would be helpful.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 8/16/2025

    Very attentive to my questions, however the next procedure she ordered for me did not completely understand what it might tell me about my diagnosis. I felt she had another appointment waiting. She did apologize.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 8/16/2025

    Dr. Speer is very easy to talk to, she explains everything as to upcoming procedures and what to expect in the days after the procedure is done. I like her very much.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 8/16/2025

    Dr. Speer has always been attentive, listens to what I have to ask, answers all my questions and makes sure I know "next steps"

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 8/5/2025

    Dr. Speer is very personable and thorough. I've enjoyed working with her to solve my medical issues.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/23/2025

    I was referred to Dr. Speer by my GI specialist for help in directing the next steps in my treatment. I felt Dr. Speer focused on my issues and knew the best route to get additional information to direct those steps. I learned a lot during the visit and am grateful for the time she spent with me.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/19/2025

    I trust Dr. Speer’s evaluation so I can have the tests performed and look forward to improving my life

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/11/2025

    Dr. Speer is very personable and explained what I needed to do to further to ensure a successful healing of my procedure.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/10/2025

    Listens to what you have to say Pays attention to your needs she cares

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/10/2025

    i loved how she understood exactly what I was going through and how well she explained things and that she has alternate ideas that I had not heard of before with previously seen doctors...gastro docs

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/2/2025

    I really liked the entire service.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 6/25/2025

    Like I mentioned, I felt very confident in Dr. Speer’s knowledge and ability. She inspires that confidence while also being attentive and kind.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 4/30/2025

    I love Dr. Speer. She placed a Linx system around my esophagus about a month ago and everything is going great! No more heartburn, no more massive doses of Pantoprozole!